Guide
Artwork that actually prints
More orders stall on artwork than on anything else. Not because the design is bad, but because the file it arrived in cannot become a screen. Here is what a printer actually needs, and how to tell before you send it.
Vector wins. An AI, EPS or editable PDF built at print size can be scaled to anything with no loss.
If it has to be an image, make it 300 DPI at the size it will print, on a transparent background.
The logo off your website is almost never enough, and that is the single most common reason an order waits.
Vector and raster, and why printers care
There are two kinds of digital artwork and the difference decides everything downstream.
Vector artwork is stored as mathematics. Shapes, curves and fills described as instructions rather than pixels. Scale it to a postage stamp or a billboard and the edges stay perfectly crisp, because the shape is recalculated rather than stretched. Vector files come out of Illustrator and similar programs as AI, EPS or PDF.
Raster artwork is a grid of pixels. Photographs are raster and always will be. A raster file has a fixed amount of information in it, so enlarging it does not add detail, it just makes the existing pixels bigger and softer. JPEG, PNG and PSD are raster.
Vector holds a clean edge at any size, which is why it is the safest thing to send. Raster works too, including gradients, soft edges and photographic detail, but only when there are enough pixels to hold up at full print size. Resolution is the constraint, not the style of the artwork.
What to send, in order of preference
| Format | Works? | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| AI, EPS, editable PDF | Best | Built at print size, text converted to outlines |
| Layered PSD | Good | 300 DPI at print size, transparent background |
| PNG with transparency | Usable | 300 DPI at print size, no white box behind it |
| JPEG | Risky | Cannot hold transparency, compression softens edges |
| Screenshot or web image | Almost never | Too small, too low resolution, background baked in |
| Photo of a shirt or a sketch | As reference only | Useful for explaining intent, not for printing |
The resolution trap
DPI on its own means nothing. It only means something paired with a size.
An image can be 300 DPI and still be useless, because 300 DPI at two inches wide is 60 DPI once you stretch it across a ten inch print. The number that matters is resolution at final print size.
The quick check: open the file and look at its pixel dimensions. For a print eleven inches wide at 300 DPI you need roughly 3,300 pixels across. If your file is 600 pixels wide, no software setting will rescue it. Enlarging it in Photoshop does not create detail that was never captured, it just guesses, and guessing looks like blur.
This is the one to check before you send anything. If the file is under about 1,500 pixels on its longest side, assume it will not hold up at full front size and tell us up front. It is a five minute conversation now instead of a two day delay later.
Why the website logo keeps failing
Web images are deliberately small. Every kilobyte slows a page down, so logos get exported at 72 DPI and a few hundred pixels wide, which is exactly right for a screen and nowhere near enough for fabric.
They usually carry two other problems. The background is often baked in as solid white, which means printing it puts a white rectangle around your logo. And it is flattened at a size meant for a web page, so there is no clean original underneath to work from.
The original artwork exists somewhere. Whoever designed the logo has it, usually as an AI or EPS file. That file is worth chasing down once and keeping forever, because anyone who ever reproduces your logo will ask for it.
If the original is gone
Sometimes it genuinely does not exist any more. The designer moved on, the agency closed, the file lived on a laptop that died. This is more common than you would think and it is not a problem, it just needs solving before anything prints.
We can rebuild your logo as a print ready file. The cost is quoted up front, before you approve anything, and then the design is ready to go.
We will always tell you first. If what you send needs rebuilding we say so before we quote it, and you approve the cost before we start. You will never find a rebuild charge on an invoice you did not agree to.
Send whatever you have and we will tell you which side of that line it falls on. That answer is free and takes a few minutes.
What actually drives the price
Colors never cost you more. Use gradients, photographic detail and as many colors as the design wants, and the quote does not move for it.
We print in our standard ink range at no extra charge, and it covers most brand colors closely. If you need an exact match to a specific brand color, that is quoted up front, before you approve anything, and we will tell you when your design needs it rather than assuming.
What does move it is how much space the design covers and how many places it goes. A larger print uses more material than a small one, and adding a back or a sleeve is another position to print rather than the same one continued.
So if you are trying to bring a quote down, the levers are size and the number of positions. Now and then a very simple design opens a cheaper route than the standard one, and we will tell you when yours does rather than leaving you to guess at it.
Before you send the file
- Convert text to outlines. Otherwise the font has to exist on our machine too, and if it does not, the text silently reflows into something else.
- Remove the background. Transparent, not white. A white background will print as white ink.
- Build it at print size. A file made at the size it will actually be printed removes all the guesswork about resolution.
- Name your colors if they matter. If your brand red is a specific Pantone, say so. Matching by eye from a screen is a guess, and screens lie about color.
- Send the original, not an export. If you have the AI file, send the AI file rather than a PNG of it.
Common questions
What file format do I need?
Vector is best: an AI, EPS or editable PDF built at the size you want it printed. A layered PSD at 300 DPI at final print size also works, on a transparent background.
Is 300 DPI enough?
Yes, as long as it is 300 DPI at the size it will actually print. A 300 DPI image two inches wide becomes 60 DPI when blown up to ten inches, and it will print soft.
What if my file is under 300 DPI?
It may still be fine. 300 is what we aim for, but 150 DPI at final print size is the real floor, and plenty of files land between the two and print cleanly. Send it and we will tell you which side of the line yours falls on before you commit to anything.
Why can I not use the logo from my website?
Web images are saved small and low resolution on purpose so pages load fast. Printing needs several times that resolution, and the file usually has a background baked into it.
Does the number of colors matter?
Adding colors never costs you more. What moves a quote is how large the print is and how many positions it goes in. A very simple design occasionally opens a cheaper route, and we will point it out if yours does.
What if I only have a screenshot or a small image?
Send it anyway. Depending on the size you want printed, it may be fine as it is. If it needs rebuilding as a print ready file, we tell you the cost before we quote so you can decide.
Can you match my exact brand color?
Our standard ink range covers most brand colors closely and costs nothing extra. An exact match to a specific color is quoted up front, before you approve anything. Tell us the color you need and we will say which of those two you are looking at.
Not sure your file will hold up?
Send whatever you have. We will tell you honestly whether it prints at the size you want, before you spend anything.
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